The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President, Archbishop Philip Wilson, has announced that he will be attending the 'Make-It-Count' event, organised by the Australian Christian Lobby; which aims to allow both leaders of the major parties to outline why Christians should vote for them.
The 'Make-It-Count' event is going to be held at the National Press Club on August 9th in Canberra, where it will be web-cast through churches across Australia. Archbishop Wilson said that it was 'encouraging' that both the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader would address the concerns of Christians through this new method.
"The latest Census figures continued to show that most Australians identify themselves as Christian and so it is encouraging to see our political leaders engaging with our concerns in this new and innovative way," he said.
The Executive minister from the Figtree Anglican Church, the Reverend Bruce Clarke, told sydneyanglicans.net the event would allow people to be better informed in knowing who to vote for; and it would also provide an opportunity to connect with the community.
"It will help our own people to be informed and have an intelligent understanding of what the two parties stand for, and we can bring people and use the event to connect with the community."
The 'Make-It-Count' is the first of its kind to be introduced in Australia. The objective of this event is to allow both leaders of the major parties to speak live to Christians across the nation and answer their questions.
In a survey conducted by the Online Opinion on more than 3,000 people, with Christians making up 59% of the participants; it found that the economy and 'change' is on the top of their voting priority.
Graham Young, the executive director of The National Forum and the Chief Editor On Line Opinion, gave the definition of change in a report accompanying the survey, stating: "Change" also refers to climate change… and it is also associated with Education, Iraq, War, Water, Industrial (relations) and Economy."
The Christian-vote is seen as important in the upcoming Federal election, with the 2006 Census showing that although Christianity has experienced a decline; but nonetheless, it cannot be neglected given that a majority of Australians still identified themselves as Christian.